Storage battery



p 30, 1941- R. M. RANEY I r 2,257,514

S TORAGE BATTERY Filed April 15, 1940 INVENTIOR. Y Keefer/7 fi wsr 14M fwd 407 x1445 A TTORNEYJ Patented Sept. 1941 Robert M. Raney,

Euclid,

Ohio, assignor to Willard Storage Battery Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of West Virginia Application April 13, 1940, Serial No. 329,503

, 1 Claim.

shall be adapted for use with cell covers of.

conventional design. I

Another object is the provision of low cost means of this character.

A further object is the provision of means of this character which shall be readily replaceable in the event of damage.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of that embodiment of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the upper portion of a battery cell embodying the invention, with the vent plug removed.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the central portion of the cell but with the vent plug screwed down into its well for closing the latter.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a rubber or other resilient insert employed in connection with the invention.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

In the drawing a battery box or container 0 conventional form is indicated at H), for a battery of any number of cells, and a cell cover for one of the cells thereof is shown at I I resting upon a shoulder Illa, the joint between the cell walls and cover being sealed with the usual sealing compound [2. The cover is provided with a fllling well l3 preferably. threaded on'its inner wall and having an inwardly extending ledgell at the bottom of the well. A threaded vent plug 15 is adapted to be received in the threaded well for closingthe latter except for the usual vent opening l6 through the top of the plug.

Cooperating with the plug I! there is a resilient tubular insert I1, which may be formed of soft or semi-soft rubber or other equivalent material- This insert has an outer cylindrical wall of a diameter to enter with considerable clearance the round hole deflned by the ledge ll.

Extending outwardly from the cylindrical part otthls insert are two ring shaped flanges, the upper flange It being flush with the upper end from the upper one a distance somewhat greater than the thickness of the ledge M.

A plurality of projections 20 depend from the flange i8. These projections are of such depth that when the parts are assembled the projections will support the insert and cause its lower flange I9 to seat snugly against the lower surface of the ledge I4, sealing the joint between the insert and the cover, as indicated in Fig. l of the drawing. Preferably these projections are relatively thin and extend radially. a

One or more suitable air passages are provided through the insert above the flange l9. Asillustrated herein I form a pair of slots 2| in the upper surface of the flange I8, these slots extending entirely'through the flange outside of the cylindrical portion of the insert. In addi- I tion to forming air passages the upper comers of these slots constitute lips for frictionally engaging the vent plug when it is screwed down and insuring some rotation of the insert, which is desirable in the operation of compressing the projections 20.

The inserts are mounted in the cell covers, both in original assembly of batteries and in the event that replacements are necessary, by dropping the inserts into the wells until the ring flange IQ of each insert rests upon the top surface of the ledge l4. Downward pressure is then exerted upon the insert sufiicient in degree to cause the flange l9 to pass through the hole defined by the ledge and to snap into place beneath the ledge, due to the resiliency of the material of which the insert is constructed. The lips 20 of the insert then rest upon the ledge II, and the relative proportions of their depth, the thickness of ledge l4 and the spacing between the two ring'flanges are such that the lips 20 are slightly compressed and therefore exert a pull upwardly which causes the flange l9 to seat snugly against the lower surface of the ledge, forming an air tight seal.

Operation.-When a cell is to be filled with electrolyte or when the liquid in a cell is to be replenishedthe vent plug I5 is removed and electrolyte or water, as the case may be, is.

poured into the cell through the tubular insert. The liquid then rises in the cell until it reaches the level A substantially flush with the'lower end of the insert, Fig. 1. The air in the upper part of the cell is then trapped and prevents the liquid from rising further except in the insert. when the operator notes liquid rising in the insert he stops pouring it into the cell, replaces o! the insert and the lower flange I! being spaced the plug and screws it down. When the bottom 01' the plug engages the upper flange of the insert, which is then in the position of Fig. l, the lower end of the plug frictionally engages the upper end of the insert, particularly the upper corners of the slots 2i, and as the plug inwardly of the vent plug.

The flnal position of the plug is illustrated in Fig. 2. The seal between the flange l9 and the flange H is now broken and air may ascend into the well around the exterior of the insert and then pass inwardly through the slots 2i and out through the vent opening i6. Hence any liquid which remains within the insert when the refiiling operation is terminated flows down into the cell and a new common level B within and I without the insert is established. On the next occasion for adding liquid the plug I is unscrewed and the projections 20 by virtue of their resilience immediately spring back to the position of Fig. 1, effecting an air seal at the bottom of ledge it ready for the filling operation.

The action is automatic and reliable. If for any reason the projections 20 or any of them should become damaged so that the desired air seal would not occur when the plug was removed, that fact would not in any way interfere with the refilling of the cell in the ordinary way as practiced before the present invention, and furthermore such a damaged insert could be readily replaced with a new one at small cost.

Obviously the'present invention is not restricted to the particular embodiment thereof herein shown and described but variations and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claim. Having thus described my invention, I claim: A storage battery cell cover having a filler well provided at the bottom thereof with an inwardly extending ledge, a vent plug adapted to be received in the upper part of the well to close the same and provided at the top with a vent opening, a tubular flexible insert seated in the lower part of the well and extending downwardly beneath said ledge to determine a normal electrolyte level, said insert having a body portion which is smaller in diameter than the annular opening defined by saidledge and provided at the upper part thereof with two annular flanges which overlap the ledge and are located respectively above and below the same, the distance between said flanges being greater than the thickness of the ledge and the upper flange being slotted, said insert having between the flanges flexible projections which engage the upper surface of the ledge and which when the vent plug is removed hold the lower flange in sealing engagement with the ledge, the length of the vent plug being such that when the plug is placed in well closing position its lower end engages the top flange of the insert and depresses the latter so as to flex said projections and move said lower flange downwardly away from the lower surface of the ledge thereby establishing a venting outlet from the lower side of the cover through the space between the ledge and the insert and through the slotted upper flange into the vent plug body.

ROBERT M. RANE'Y. 

